The man hurled something at Shadow, drew his sword, and blocked a strike.
The keys! They soared through the bars of her cell and skidded across the stone floor.
Shadow ran for them, taking three steps before the chain on her ankle stopped her short and she nearly fell on her face. She couldn’t reach them! Stretching her free leg out, her toes touched one key. Yanking on her chain, she tried to reach just a little farther.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
JAEL
JAEL KEPT TO SHADOWS and waited at the top of the stairs leading to the dungeon. The cooks were getting ready to leave. Xenos was going to miss his chance to get the witch out.
Footsteps pounded down the stone corridors. A slew of heartbeats headed his way, along with worried whispers.
“The keys are missing! We have to check.”
“We’ll all be fed to the snakes if the women are gone.”
Xenos was still down there with the Dragă. What was taking him so long? And women? More than one witch then. Maybe Xenos was trying to get them all out. He would.
Twenty guards clattered past Jael, and he followed, closing the door to the dungeon behind them. Better to keep this as quiet as possible.
As he crept down the stairs, for a second, Jael thought he heard Sululu. Now he was imagining her voice. He was obsessed. She shouldn’t be anywhere near the palace.
He hadn’t been able to bring himself to ask Echo about the mysterious blonde. Better not to know where she went, so he couldn’t follow her.
But a flash of pink in the dim torchlight was enough for his vampire vision to see her.
Sululu.
The robe he’d given her was gone, leaving her wearing pink scarves and a gauzy skirt draped around her slim body, showing all the curves beneath. She stood at the bars of her cell with her arms behind her. More scarves covered her hair and face, leaving pale blue eyes the only feature he could discern.
Why was she here? Echo hadn’t mentioned any problems. Had Sululu not gone into The Sword & Mace for some reason?
She was watching him. He wished she wasn’t. He’d killed for her before, but she hadn’t seen it happen, just the end results. Now she would see him end the lives of all these men.
It couldn’t be helped. Xenos had to get the Dragă out of here, and find Fereydun.
Jael drew his scimitars and waded into the crowd, taking two heads as Xenos stabbed a man in front of him.
The Dragă held up her hands. Silver light burst around her. Brown hair changed to black, and dark eyes blazed silver. She wasn’t just Dragă — she was strygoi. That changed everything.
Silver lightning flashed from her fingers. Glass jars exploded. The table caught fire. One fork of lightning arced towards Sululu. She screamed and ducked out of the way. The lighting rebounded off the bars of her cell, ricocheted into the room, and struck a cluster of men, knocking five to the floor.
It was enough to momentarily scatter the rest.
“Go!” Jael yelled at Xenos, running forward and slashing with his scimitars to make sure the way was clear. “Get her out of here!”
The guards had come here in a hurry, but not unprepared. Most of them wore armor on their chests, backs and legs, and as they recovered and got to their feet, had their weapons out.
Jael’s blades sparked off metal, then bit into flesh. “I’ll get the other one. Go!”
Xenos didn’t hesitate. He seized the silver witch in his arms and rushed her out of the dungeon.
Every instinct screamed at Jael to make his stand in front of Sululu in her cell, but that left the exit clear. He moved to the base of the staircase. None of these men could live to tell the mage a silver witch was around. And he had to protect Sululu. He wouldn’t allow the mage to take out his frustrations or need for magic on her.
She stood, pressed to the bars of her cell, still watching him. Far from being disgusted or afraid, she seemed eager to see more.
Scimitars spinning, Jael launched himself into battle with maybe slightly more enthusiasm than necessary. These last few years he'd killed for others, but he hadn't had anyone to fight for. He held nothing back as he faced the remaining twelve soldiers.
With the advantage of vampire speed, he caught one strike on his scimitar, slashed with the other, and leveled a man with a front kick, knocking the ones behind to the floor.
Eleven.
Several guards rushed from the right. Jael ducked and dodged as he stabbed and parried. He found himself toying with them, adding a bit of flair to his movements. Showing off. The Old Man of the Mountain would have a story about that.
Three fell. Eight heart beats left.
Two tried to take advantage of the gap on the left. Jael back flipped, landing a few stairs higher, stopping that escape attempt as the men halted at his sudden appearance in front of them.
He risked a glance at Sululu. The guards ignored her. That knowledge almost came at the cost of a sword to the face. Only his speed let him twist away in time to avoid that, but not the burn of a second cut across his biceps. That would have earned another story.
Vampire healing took care of the minor wound. Attention on the fight fully, Jael repaid the strikes with his swords across two necks just above chest armor.
Six.
Lunge. Dodge. Stab.
The last five made things more difficult. Realizing death awaited them on the staircase, they retreated and spread out as much as they could, forcing Jael to leave the staircase to come after them.
Two of them stopped near Sululu’s cell. That decided their fate and the order he’d come for them.
Jael leapt from the stairs to the middle of the room. He kicked at the heavy table, sending it spinning into the three soldiers on the far side of the dungeon.
The pair in front of Sululu infuriated him. They were too close to her, and she was his. The vampire side of him surged forward, shoving the logical assassin back. Finesse vanished. The urge to rip these men to shreds ruled above all else.
He blurred into action, swords striking at unprotected joints in armor, driving the men away from Sululu toward the other men. The smell of their blood satisfied the dark side of him. They needed to suffer for going too close to his woman.
His woman. She couldn’t be his woman. Yet, every instinct said she was.
One man raised his arm to strike. Jael hit the mark first, slicing an artery in the other’s arm. The second man received a stab through his liver that went straight through him.
Two of the last three rushed at Jael, taking him to the ground. Jael kept one arm free, stabbed down into a back, and let go of the blade. Forming a fist, he punched into another face. He rolled the stunned man and straddled him.
The final guard ran. Made it to the stairs and bounded up, desperation and the hope of freedom lending strength to the man’s legs.
Jael spun the scimitar in his right hand and launched it. The blade flew true, taking his target in the unprotected back of his thigh.
He collapsed with a scream. Too close to the door. If he’d been heard, reinforcements would be on the way.
Jael twisted the head of the man he fought until it was almost backward, then launched himself at the screamer. A boot stomping his throat finally shut him up.
Retrieving his scimitars, Jael wiped his blades clean. Keys. He needed them to get to Sululu.
She called out to him as he hurriedly searched the bodies for the keys to free her.
He didn’t have time, but stopped his search and went to her, an odd need to offer comfort tugging at his non-beating heart. Jael tugged down one of the scarves to expose the lower half of Sululu's face, liking the idea of seeing her revealed a bit at a time.
Blonde hair, so shiny and light it was almost silver, fell down her back. Full pink lips parted. “Pussaa minua, Jael.”
That sounded like an invitation to him. His heart may not beat, but after that fight and seeing Sululu’s eyes on him, his blood ran hot. He’d fought for her, and she liked it. This close to
her, his body craved a new kind of conquest.
Sliding his arms through the bars of her cell, he used the flats of his blades to pull her as close as possible, swallowed hard, trying to hold back some of the raging lust inside him, and lowered his head.
Her soft lips parted for him.
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
VIKTORIA
BEING TRAPPED BETWEEN Jael’s swords and his hard body while he kissed her felt like the safest place in the world. He’d fought all these men for her. She didn’t know him, but being touched this way after numerous people had tried to hit her and hurt her, had her craving more. It was either give in to these sensations or cry, and she refused to give this place her tears.
She wanted to touch him. Feel his muscles under her palms. Trace the lines of him with her fingertips. Cup the erection that prodded her stomach. Push that hood off and finally see the face that went with the black eyes that drew her in and held her.
Jael growled as she pulled back and half turned to show him the manacles. Couldn’t he use his swords to break the chain or something?
His eyes flicked to the cuffs, seeming blacker when he met her gaze again. He sheathed his swords.
Anger swept through her. Couldn’t he see she was bound? What was wrong with him?
A predatory smile flashed sharp, white teeth.
Oh. Apparently, he liked her hands trapped behind her.
Suddenly, so did she. The shiver that went through her this time wasn’t from fear. What would he do to her? Wetness pooled between her thighs in anticipation.
Being under the control of someone wasn’t something she’d thought she’d like, especially when she couldn’t even see his face, except for those eyes of his.
Although, she was as disguised as he was. That was fun, too. This man was definitely dangerous, but that added to her unexpected thrill. What could he make her feel with those hands that killed so quickly?
He slid one up her back and tangled a fist in her hair, drawing her to him.
She went.
Jael’s hands slipped to her neck, where his thumbs circled over her fluttering pulses. His strong, calloused fingers stroked her skin. Rough hands but gentle touches. This man who murdered so easily, yet always made her feel protected and safe.
Her neck arched as he tangled a hand in her hair to pull her head back and to the side.
And impatient. She needed him to do something. Anything.
She pushed harder against him, tilted her head farther to give him more access to her neck. His mouth landed on her throat. His teeth nipped and his tongue licked down to her shoulder.
He skimmed his hand over her belly to her hip, then up her thigh, sending hot jolts through her. She lifted her hips in invitation.
Her mouth opened in surprise, and his tongue slid in to catch her gasp when a thick finger thrust into her center. Yes, finally! That was better.
Jael rubbed his thumb against her clit and spread that wetness before dipping a second finger into her. Her inner muscles gripped his fingers as he moved them within her.
Shadow’s mind spun as he stroked her. Her hips rose and fell in rhythm to his movements. His fingers were doing such decadent things. It was all happening so fast it should be overwhelm her, but all she wanted more.
He moved his fingers in a different way, and his palm rubbed against her. She ground against his hand as he pushed her closer and closer to the edge.
She made a pleased sound that made him chuckle against her lips. Her blood ran so hot the air took on a chill and made her shiver. She pushed harder against him. Only the bars between them stopped her from climbing his muscled body and taking him inside her.
The coiling tension built within her. She needed him to quench the fire he’d created.
Shadow moaned into Jael’s mouth, receiving one of his low growls in return. His fingers moved faster inside her. He curled them and increased the pressure of his thumb circling on her clit. Shadow lifted into her toes when her orgasm took her.
A cry erupted from her as pleasure swept through her, inner muscles clenching around Jael’s stroking fingers. Her whole body shook and the only reason she could stay upright was his strong arm around her as she completely unraveled.
The air grew colder.
Oh no. This wasn’t the heat of her worked up body making the air seem cold.
Mother was opening the portal to Pohjola.
Shadow had wanted her mother for two days, but now Shadow needed more time.
Snowflakes swirled in the air.
The pull of her mother’s magic nearly swept her off her feet. Without the use of her hands, which had been exciting up to this point, she couldn’t resist the pull to return home.
Her feet slid over the stone floor of her prison cell toward the portal. Ice formed on the chain leading to the cuff on her ankle. A sharp jerk on her body snapped the tether, lifted her off her feet, and pulled her inexorably away.
“Sululu!” Jael reached for her, shoving his arm through the gaps as he threw himself at the bars of her cell.
Shadow stared into his eyes one last time. “Hyvasti, Jael.”
“Sululu!”
The portal took her.
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
JAEL
SULULU DISAPPEARED, and whatever magical portal had opened, closed.
What the Erṣetu kind of magic could do that? Sululu said her power was shadows, but while she’d been reluctant to go, she hadn’t been scared, so she must have known the portal magic, too.
The calm that had descended over him the second she gave herself to him. — a tranquility he’d never expected to experience when all he felt was her pliant body against his and her tightness squeezing his fingers — vanished.
She was his, and only his. Heartbeat, or no heartbeat.
He savored the astonishing feelings she evoked in him. Most of them were feelings he was experiencing for the first time. He’d never felt so protective of another other than his daughter before, never wanted to cherish and hold someone as close as he held Sululu.
All he could smell right before she vanished was her sweet blood pounding through her veins. His fangs had descended, ready to bite. To feel her flowing through him and make his blood course in her in an unbreakable bond.
The mysterious blonde witch, writhing on his fingers and feeding him her moans, disappeared into thin air. He didn’t need to eat food anymore, but he might very well starve if he never swallowed another of those sounds.
He roared in frustration, kicked the bars of the cell, and stooped to pick up a discarded pale pink scarf, running the silky material through his rough fingers.
Why couldn’t she have been his Dragă? His fangs ached. He wanted her. But his damn heart hadn’t even twitched in his chest. There were no vibrant colors. And while her blood and arousal tempted him more than any other woman, there hadn’t been a special scent.
He crumpled the scarf in his fist and stuffed it into a pocket. The only other signs she’d been here at all were melting snowflakes, and the chain from around her ankle shattered on the floor. Deeper in the cell, more metal glinted. The keys? Xenos must have tried to get them to Sululu.
Jael spun away from the now empty cell. He had to clean up down here. There wasn’t anything he could do about burns from lightning strikes on clothing or skin, or all the blood everywhere. But he could hide the sword cuts in a way and leave the things he refused to explain a larger mystery. He picked up discarded blades.
With vampire speed, he added cuts to the bodies all around him with the clumsier swords, then tossed the bloody blades and the men into the strygoi’s cell. With any luck, the assumption would be they’d killed one another.
When he finished his grisly work, he closed the door. White magic flared when it clanged shut. Jael ghosted up the stairs, arriving at the top and slipping out of sight as more soldiers arrived. They clattered into the dungeon, and he followed them down.
“What happened here?”
“They al
l killed each other.”
“Demons. That’s what the king imprisons down here. Demons.”
That was as good an explanation as any. Jael would go with that.
ZAHHAK WAS NOT PLEASED when Jael obeyed the summons to appear in the throne room. “Assassin, what happened in the dungeon?” The king practically vibrated with tension. A mage needed witches to fuel his magic.
Glad his hood kept his face hidden, Jael shrugged. “I saw the same thing as your soldiers. The keys in one cell, all your men in the other one with sword wounds and bloody blades. The witches gone.”
“How did they get the keys?”
“Someone must have taken them to the witches.” That was the truth.
“Where could they go?” Zahhak screamed. The serpents burst from his shoulders and spread their hoods as they swayed in agitation.
“I don’t know.” That was partially the truth. If Jael had the first clue where his blonde witch went, he’d go after her in a second. “The witches disappeared. You saw the broken chain. No one could have entered the cell without the keys.”
“How is that possible?”
Jael shrugged. “Perhaps you should check with the man who brought her —”
“It.” Zahhak tapped his fingers on his throne.
“— here for you. Maybe he has more insight as to the kinds of magic the witches used.”
A soldier rushed into the throne room, gasping as he made his announcement. “Fereydun is coming! With an army! Kaveh marches with him! They’ll be here soon!”
The snakes writhed and hissed as Zahhak launched himself from his throne. “Guards! Find Fereydun and quell this insurrection.”
Zahhak didn’t sound like the ruthless killer of his father and two innocent people a day anymore. He sounded like the boy he’d been only weeks ago — scared.
“Assassin, you must remain with me.” The snakes on Zahhak’s shoulders didn’t seem as large, and they were lethargic, like they were ill. Because the Mage hadn’t fed on a witch? Maybe Xenos had inadvertently found a way to defeat the seemingly impossible to defeat snakes.
Viktoria's Shadow: Jael Page 20